Call for Policy Relevant Research Proposals on Local Democracy
Amount of funding that may be sought: Up to 1 million SEK. The total amount to be granted to all the approved projects is a maximum of 6 million SEK. This grant can be used in combination with other grants.
Responsible Organization: Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy - ICLD
Background:
The overall objective for ICLD – Swedish International Centre for Local Democracy - is to promote the development of sustainable local democracy in OECD-DAC countries and in Sweden. For ICLD, well-functioning local democracy is specifically characterized by four core areas: equity, participation, transparency and accountability. ICLD works in 21 countries through international training programmes for local politicians and government officials and through municipal partnerships. In these programmes, government officials and politicians work in projects that reduce poverty through the promotion of functioning, democratic local and regional governments, where residents are enabled to influence local political processes.
To contribute to knowledge development and policy guidance within the field of local democracy, ICLD has a Knowledge Centre that provides financial support to policy-relevant research projects that are innovative and closely related to priority areas of the organization. Research financed by ICLD plays a supportive and strategic role in relation to the other units at ICLD: the international training programs and the municipal partnerships. The Knowledge Centre strives to use research to increase capacity and awareness among municipalities in ICLD's partner countries, but research should also shed light on problems and strategic issues that are relevant to local democracy enhancement in other places.
In line with Swedish International Cooperation, ICLD works towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and it follows a sustainability, human rights, gender and conflict perspective.
Aim of this Call for Proposals and Thematic Framework:
The overarching aim of the call is to better understand the role of local governments and local democratic institutions in addressing global challenges. Proposed research should focus on problems and opportunities where there is a potential to generate innovative and transformative policies that can increase the influence of vulnerable people in the decisions made by local governments that affect their lives. ICLD will prioritize research projects that include the countries where ICLD operates: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Who can apply
The main applicant should be a researcher with a deep knowledge within the field of development and democracy that holds a PhD and is affiliated with a research institution or an accredited university or college. The research team should have a gender balance and preferably include researchers based in one of the countries being studied.
For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
https://icld.se/static/files/call-text.pdf